Ensemble

Comprised of conservatory-trained violinists with deep roots in both historical performance practice and traditional folk styles, the Berwick Fiddle Consort (BFC), founded by Lydia Becker, Julia Connor, and Sarah Douglass, performs historical folk music on period instruments. The ensemble strives to approach fiddle tunes from a multi-faceted perspective, combining baroque violin technique, aurally-learned regional fiddling traditions, and study of historical manuscripts. Drawing on these sources, BFC creates period-instrument arrangements of traditional folk music that experiment with various aspects of historical performance, always bringing their own creativity to bear. 

BFC concerts offer an exciting counterpoint to the traditional canon of historical repertoire and the classical music experience.  Audience members are encouraged to tap their feet to the music, cheer after tune changes, or get up and dance.  This relaxed, welcoming performance atmosphere allows listeners to personally connect with the music and band members.

BFC was formed in the summer of 2018 at the Oregon Bach Festival when Lydia, Julia, and Sarah began a nightly tradition of meeting after rehearsals to play fiddle tunes on baroque violins well into the night. At these nocturnal jam sessions, they quickly found that performing 17th and 18th century music from the British Isles and Canada on the kinds of instruments that were used at that time opened up new dimensions of sound, rhythm, and musical expression. BFC presented their debut concert at the 2019 Boston Early Music Festival Fringe and have since performed with Pegasus/NYS Baroque, Gotham Early Music Scene, Society for Historically Informed Performance, Off the Dock Festival, and The Pass Early Music Festival, among others. BFC has also been an ensemble-in-residence at Avaloch Farm in Boscawen, NH.

As advocates for broader use of aural learning in early music and understanding of traditional music practices, BFC has given workshops and coached chamber music students at the Oberlin Conservatory and presented a workshop on aural learning at the 2024 Early Music America Summit.

Members

French-American violinist Lydia Becker unites historical performance practices with creativity and curiosity, engaging diverse audiences through explorative music-making. 

Lydia has performed with Rachel Podger, Masaaki Suzuki, and Reggie Mobley, among others. She has appeared as a soloist with Juilliard415 on tour in Bolivia at the Misiones de Chiquitos Baroque Music Festival, Publick Musick, and the Eastman Collegium Musicum. Her 2024-25 season includes performances with Paul O’Dette, The English Concert, William Christie, Twelfth Night, The Sebastians, Pegasus Early Music, and NYS Baroque.
Driven by creative music-making, Lydia is a founding member of the Berwick Fiddle Consort, an ensemble that explores historical fiddling traditions of the British Isles. She has collaborated with Rhiannon Giddens, and co-leads traditional music sessions at the Juilliard School.
Lydia is a Benzaquen Career Advancement Grant recipient, a Fellow of The English Concert in America, and a former Mercury-Juilliard Fellow. 

Growing up surrounded by classical music, Julia Connor developed a love of traditional music in 6th grade when she joined the Celtic Band of Flaming Destruction at school. She has since developed a wide-ranging musical voice, performing everything from baroque music on period instruments to fiddle music from Ireland to new works by living composers. In addition to her work with BFC, Julia is a founding member of the violin and piano duo Room to Spare, which composes and performs original groove-based new music. She has also spent the past five years studying the East Clare Irish Music tradition in both County Clare, Ireland and in the US.

Julia performs regularly on baroque violin, modern violin, and fiddle in Boston, where she is based, and throughout the U.S. Highlights include performances at the Boston Early Music Festival, Gotham Early Music Scene, GBH Radio Boston, Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Pegasus Early Music and teaching at the Panama Jazz Festival. Her solo playing has been featured on the Society for Historically Informed Performance (SoHIP) summer concert series (Boston), Kings Chapel Concert Series (Boston), the Music by Women Festival (MS), and ClareFM radio (Ireland). Julia has been an artist in residence at PLAYA (Summer Lake, OR) and Avaloch Farm (Boscawen, NH).

Julia holds a Master’s degree with honors from the New England Conservatory and is a graduate of the Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she earned degrees with high honors in violin performance and Hispanic studies.

Sarah Bleile Douglass is a versatile baroque violinist who has charmed audiences in North America and Europe in both her fields of baroque music and traditional fiddling. Sarah can be heard on her debut album with duo partner Shelby Yamin, performing the violin duets by Maddalena Sirmen Lombardini, as well as on the Juno-winning album “Early Italian Cello Concertos” with Elinor Frey and Rosa Barocca, and on the album “Rigel: Le Souffle de la Révolution” with Arion Orchestre Baroque.

Sarah serves as Co-Artistic Director of Chamber Muse Historical Music Society in Calgary, and performs with Rosa Barocca in Alberta and Arion Baroque Orchestra in Montreal. She is also a founding member of the Berwick Fiddle Consort. She received her Master’s degree in baroque violin from McGill University, studying with Olivier Brault and with Kati Debretzeni at The Hague Conservatory, and also earned degrees in modern and baroque violin from the San Francisco Conservatory, studying with Elizabeth Blumenstock and Ian Swensen.